Category Archives: devaan

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 17

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.4, bhootaganaam, chapter 17 verse 4, devaan, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, janaahaa, pretaan, raajasaahaa, saattvikaa, taamasaa, yajante, yaksharakshaamsi

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yajante saattvikaa devaanyaksharakshaamsi raajasaahaa |
pretaanbhootaganaamshchaanye yajante taamasaa janaahaa || 4 ||
 
Saatvic individuals worship deities, raajasic individuals worship the yakshas and the raakshasas, others, taamasic individuals, the pretas and band of bhootas.
 
yajante : worship
saattvikaa : saatvic individuals
devaan : deities
yaksharakshaamsi : yakshas and raakshasas
raajasaahaa : raajasic individuals
pretaan : pretas
bhootaganaam : band of bhootas
cha : and
anye : others
yajante : worship
taamasaa : taamasic
janaahaa : individuals
 
Shri Krishna says that people who have faith can be placed in three categories. Those that worship deities such as Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva and so on are saatvic. Those that worship materialistic spirits or yakshas such as Kubera the lord of wealth are raajasic. Those that worship ghosts and demons are taamasic. Hearing this, we may say that we only worship deities. We never worship anything else. Therefore, we may conclude that we are highly saatvic individuals.
 
But as we have seen in karma yoga, the attitude with which we perform an action is equally important as the action itself. Imagine that three people visit the same temple at the same time and pray to the same deity. One person may pray because he wants his daughter to get married. One may pray to knock off his business competitor. Another may pray so that he attains liberation in this life. Outwardly, they may seem to be doing the same action, but there is a world of difference in their attitude. This difference in attitude is symbolically conveyed in the shloka using terms such as ghosts and demons.
 
So, analyzing our actions is not as easy as observing what we do. We also need to note our attitude behind our actions. As we saw earlier, our nature or svabhaava determines our attitude and our actions. To uncover the texture of our faith, we first need to uncover our attitudes and motivations, which requires a high degree of awareness. To get better and doing so, Shri Krishna covers a gamut of actions in this chapter so that we can practice observing our attitude as well as our actions, observe what we do and why we do it.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 9

20 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.25, api, bhootaani, bhootejyaahaa, chapter 9 verse 25, devaan, devavrataa, maam, mat, pitrun, pitruvrataahaa, yaajinaha, yaanti

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yaanti devavrataa devaan pitrunyaanti pitruvrataahaa |
bhootaani yaanti bhootejyaa yaanti madyaajinopi maam || 25 ||
 
Those who worship deities attain the deities, those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors, those who worship spirits attain the spirits, but those who worship me attain me.
 
yaanti : attain
devavrataa : deity worshippers
devaan : deities
pitrun : ancestors
pitruvrataahaa : ancestor worshippers
bhootaani : spirits
bhootejyaahaa : spirit worshippers
mat : my
yaajinaha : worshippers
api : but
maam : me
 
As we are exploring the topic of worship, we should not make the mistake of thinking that worship only happens in a temple in front of a deity. In many cases, worship of individuals is something that we take for granted. If we need a loan, we have to worship the loan officer to gain his favour. If we need a job, we have to worship someone in that firm so that they can do a referral. If we need admission into a school, we have to worship the admissions officer.
 
The eighteenth chapter of the Gita categorizes every action into three types: saatvic, raajasic and taamasic. Worship of a guru for knowledge is saatvic worship. Worship of a loan officer for a loan is raajasic worship. Worship of a gangster to kill someone is taamasic worship. But ultimately, any knowledge that comes under the realm of the three gunaas is finite.
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna gives examples of worship towards deities, ancestors and spirits that encompass most kinds of so-called spiritual worship performed today. However, as we saw earlier, the best that this kind worship can give us is a finite material result. Even if we get to go to heaven through such worship, we will have to come back to earth one day when our merits are exhausted.
 
The infinite Ishvara has ability to give us liberation. Instead of asking that, we ask finite things like exam success, job success and so on. It is like asking a millionaire for pennies. We do so because we have conditioned ourselves to accept very narrow materialistic definitions of success. If our definition of success is narrow, our definition of Ishvara somehow becomes narrow as well.
 
So therefore, we come to the conclusion that we have to learn the correct technique of worshipping Ishvara. How does that work? Is it something arcane and complex? Shri Krishna provides a beautiful answer to that question next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 7

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.23, alpamedhasaam, antavat, api, bhavati, chapter 7 verse 23, devaan, devayajaha, maam, madbhaktaaha, phalam, tat, teshaam, tu, yaanti

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antavattu phalam teshaam tadbhavatyalpamedhasaam |
devaandevayajo yaanti madbhaktaa yaanti maamapi || 23 ||
 
But, those with finite intellect obtain a perishable result. Worshippers of deities obtain those deities, (and) my devotees obtain me alone.
 
antavat : perishable
tu : but
phalam : result
teshaam : of those
tat : that
bhavati : obtain
alpamedhasaam : people of finite intellect
devaan : deities
devayajaha : those who worship
yaanti : obtain
madbhaktaaha : my devotee
yaanti : obtain
maam : me
api : alone
 
We saw that there were two kinds of devotees – those who pursue finite goals and those who pursue the infinite. Earlier, Shri Krishna said that there was nothing wrong with pursuing finite goals as long as such devotees eventually involve towards pursuing the infinite.
 
Why do most devotees contact a deity, someone or something that is higher than them? It is to acquire or obtain a goal that will relieve them of their finitude. Let’s say they worship a deity and manage to obtain the object that they desire. Shri Krishna says that no matter what object is acquired, it will perish at some point. In other words, that object will be time-bound or space-bound. It will make the person happy for a short amount of time, after which he will begin to feel finite and consequently unhappy. The cycle of seeking another finite goal will start all over again.
 
Devotees who do not see the folly of repeatedly acquiring finite things are termed “alpa-medhasaa” or finite-minded by Shri Krishna. They will never be free of sorrow but will manage to suppress it temporarily. They are deprived of the knowledge which indicates the true nature of Ishvara. That is why we should never stop enquiring into the reality of things, and try to look beyond the material world for the real answers to our problems.
 
Shri Krishna goes on to say that those who worship deities may eventually obtain the favour of the deity, who will shower them with his grace. Though commendable, this outcome will still be futile, because the deity is still a finite entity. Only those who seek the infinite Ishvara will gain infinitude by which their sense of finitude or incompleteness will be taken care of once and for all.
 
So then, there has to be reason why most people do not seek infinitude. This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 2

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.11, anena, avaapsyatha, bhaavanyantah, bhaavayantu, bhaavayata, chapter 3 verse 11, devaah, devaan, param, parasparam, shreyah, te, vaha

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devaanbhaavayataanena te devaa bhaavayantu vaha |
parasparam bhaavayantah shreyah paramavaapsyatha || 11 ||

You will make the deities prosper through this (yajna), and the deities will make you prosper. By mutually making each other prosperous, you will attain the highest good.

devaan : deities
bhaavayata : make them prosper
anena: through this
te devaah : those deities
bhaavayantu : prosper
vaha : you
parasparam : mutual
bhaavayantah : making them prosper
shreyah : good
param : highest
avaapsyatha : attain

In this shloka, Shri Krishna emphasizes that the definition yajna includes all beings, not just the one individual who is following this technique.

Modern management practices agree that when two parties negotiate, the best outcome is one where both parties benefit, rather than one gaining and one losing. This outcome is known as a “win-win” situation. Shri Krishna reinforces this very same principle. He urges us to act in a spirit of harmony and cooperation with others whenever we undertake any action.

An interesting word is used here : “devataa” or deity. What does it represent? It represents each and every factor that is responsible for our action. In a narrow sense, it represents other individuals who collectively represent the higher ideal that we are working for, e.g. members in our family, colleagues in our company, citizens in our nation and so on.

But in a broad sense, it includes all humans, animals, plants and all of nature that we share this earth with. It is a recognition that there is a higher ideal operating at all times when we perform even a trivial action like eating our lunch. Shri Krishna urges us to not forget this point.

In essence, if we serve a higher ideal, that higher ideal will serve us. This is the message.

Conversely, Shri Krishna reminds us to not treat any individual, plant or animal with disrespect, since they are collectively serving us in some way or another.